Amazon.com: Introduction to Graph Theory (9780132278287): Douglas Brent West: Books

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Introduction to Graph Theory
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Introduction to Graph Theory [Hardcover]

Douglas Brent West (Author)
2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Textbook Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for students on millions of items. Learn more

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover $104.49  
Hardcover, November 14, 1995 --  
Paperback --  
There is a newer edition of this item:
Introduction to Graph Theory (3rd Edition) Introduction to Graph Theory (3rd Edition) 2.9 out of 5 stars (19)
Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.

Book Description

November 14, 1995 0132278286 978-0132278287 1
Flexibly designed for CS students needing math review. Also covers some advanced, cutting edge topics (running 120 pages and intended for grad students) in the last chapter (8). This text fits senior year or intro. grad course for CS and math majors.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This text offers the most comprehensive and up–to–date presentation available of the fundamental topics in graph theory. It develops a thorough understanding of the structure of graphs and the techniques used to analyze problems in graph theory. It includes basic graph algorithms and particularly thought-provoking exercises.

From the Back Cover

Key Benefit: The main objective of this book is to develop a thorough understanding of the structure of graphs and the techniques used to analyze problems in graph theory. Fundamental graph algorithms are also included. Numerous examples, illustrations, and exercises guide readerss through the concepts and proofs. Key Topics: Offers a comprehensive and up-to-date presentation of the fundamental topics in graph theory. Features an early review of basic proof techniques. Structures content for intellectual coherence, providing a gradual increase in intellectual and computational complexity throughout the book. Introduces new concepts as needed; presents concepts and results in clearly defined units; provides illustrations for Key steps in many proofs.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div; 1 edition (November 14, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0132278286
  • ISBN-13: 978-0132278287
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (7)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
2.9 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, March 2, 2004
By 
Level of the book: 3rd-4th year undergrad or 1st-2nd year grad (pretty big range).

Don't let other reviews fool you. This book does an excellent job covering the material at hand, especially given the task West set out to achieve. The book basically stands alone thanks to thorough appendices and a fair amount of examples, plus lots of problems (mostly proofs). Because this material is proof-based, I cannot suggest that this book could stand alone, but that someone else should review problems and such.

When I first was reading this book, I ignored the appendices, and that was my downfall. Once I started using all the tools in this book, things started coming together. Because of the intricate design, I would recommend this book only to people who are serious about a thorough introduction to graph theory. That is, actually proving many of the theorems that play a central role in this introduction. For a simple introduction to concepts, I would recommend Trudeau's book, "Introduction to Graph Theory," which is a good read and introduces a few of the ideas and definitions of graph theory, but does not focus on proofs.

My only major quarrel with this book is that it is completely void of color! This would be EXTREMELY useful in this book because many of the diagrams are complicated and different color labels would make things much clearer (instead of bolding lines and such). The increased price of the book would certainly be worth the clarity from color. There are also some typos throughout the book, but none too major (that have been noticed).

Overall, I would highly recommend this book over any other, but consider waiting until an edition with color comes out.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Graph lovers' book, May 25, 2005
West is enthusiastic about graph theory. I do not recommend this book for independent study, nor would I recommend it for a first-time student of graph theory. It is called "Introduction to Graph Theory", not because it is an appropriate introductory text for new students, but because it covers a broad area of the subject. I recommend it for a student who has read at least one lower-level introductory text and would like to round out their knowledge of graph theory in a more in-depth way.
I have two problems with this book. They both stem from the fact that it reads more like a collection of journal articles than like a cohesive text book. One is that his notation is very specific--he does not always use the most common form of notation, and this means that dipping into the book is difficult. The second problem for me is that West defines many things that I do not feel need defining. Rather than using a short description of a certain type of graph whenever he refers to it, he will give it a label. Again, this makes dipping into his text rather difficult, especially since many of the things he defines are not generally given a definition. Both of these would be perfectly reasonable for a journal article, but seem rather out of place in a large textbook--his definitions particularly clutter up his work. Perhaps West is more used to writing papers than textbooks.
Having said that, West is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. His exercises are wonderful, marked with a (-) for easy, a (+) for difficult, a (!) for particularly instructive, and a (*) for problems based on optional material. Several of the (!) problems I have worked required me to actually look up the paper that they are based on for the final solution--which is possible due to his excellent citations. His index of works cited is an education in itself, and any student wishing to pursue a specific area in greater depth will find his book an wonderful gateway.

My perspective: I am an undergraduate student doing summer research in graph theory, working under a professor.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good middling book, October 10, 2005
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
The treatment is logically rigorous and impeccably arranged, yet, ironically, this book suffers from its best feature: it is comprehensive. As a book becomes more encyclopedic, it becomes less useful for pedagogy. Introduction to Graph Theory is somewhere in the middle. It is an adequate reference work and an adequate textbook. Steering a middle course, the book is bound to dissatisfy people with specific needs, but readers needing both a reference and a text will find the book satisfying.

If you buy it for pedagogical purposes, be prepared to consult other works for a more intuitive approach. Introduction to Graph Theory presents few models, relying instead on logically rigorous development. Personally, I'm for both, but that takes up space, meaning less material can be covered.

I'm glad I bought the book, and I will keep it for a future reference.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Does anyone know when this will actually be released? 0 Nov 8, 2006
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject